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Currently exist "no preparations" for US President President Trump to confer with Russia's Vladimir Putin "in the immediate future", a administration representative has declared.

Last Thursday the US president indicated he and the Russian president would conduct negotiations in Budapest soon to examine the Ukraine conflict.

A preparatory meeting between America's top diplomat Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Lavrov was due to be held recently - but the White House said the two had had a "positive" call and that a meeting was not "required".

The White House did not share further information on the reason the negotiations had been put on hold.

Background Context

The US president had discussed a Budapest summit over the phone with the Russian leader, a day before hosting Ukrainian President President Zelensky in the White House.

Various sources indicated his meeting with Zelensky had been a "heated exchange", with sources claiming the president had pushed him to give up extensive regions of eastern Ukraine as part of a deal with Moscow.

However, on Monday the American president supported a peace initiative supported by Kyiv and European leaders to halt the war on the existing battle lines.

"Let it be cut in its current state," he said.

Russia has repeatedly pushed back against freezing the current line of contact.

Moscow was only interested in "enduring stability", Russia's foreign minister commented on this week, implying that freezing the front line would only amount to a short-term truce.

Political Perspectives

The "fundamental issues" of the war needed to be addressed, Lavrov emphasized, using Moscow's terminology for a range of maximalist demands that include the acknowledgment of complete Moscow control over the eastern region as well as the military reduction of Ukraine – a unacceptable proposition for Ukraine and its European partners.

Zelensky said discussions about the current lines were the "start of negotiations" but that Russia was "taking all measures" to evade negotiations.

He further commented the sole subject that could cause Russia to "take notice" was that of the provision of long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Weapons Discussions

Putin's unplanned conversation with the US leader recently preceded rumors that the US was considering delivering long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine that could theoretically target deep into Russia.

Zelensky asserted it was the missile discussion that had compelled Moscow to participate in talks. The conversation concerning the missiles had emerged as a "strong investment" in diplomacy", he commented.